


It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by mage_989



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Christmas, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 08:06:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3023939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mage_989/pseuds/mage_989
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John has the perfect Christmas, almost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

A soft blanket of white covered the city and Christmas lights twinkled from every window. John breathed in the crisp winter air as he made his way home.

It was a perfect Christmas Eve. 

He rushed up to his apartment eager to get inside only to stop short as his phone beeped. Pulling it out John checked the name of the screen. 

Captain Maldonado.

John frowned and put the phone back in his pocket. Whatever she wanted could wait this time was for him and his family.

He unlocked his front door and went in. The smell of pine and gingerbread filled the air and Anna smiled at him as she placed a cookie sheet on the counter. 

“Hi, Honey, you made it home early.”

“Sure did I-”

“Dad!”

John scooped up his son as he barreled towards him, his black curls falling into his eyes.

“Hey, Edward, how’s my little man?”

“Awesome! Mom let me help decorate the tree come see!”

John carried his son over to admire the tree. As Edward pointed out all the ornaments he put on it John tossed his coat onto a chair and ignored the phone as it beeped again.

Anna joined him with two mugs of hot chocolate. 

“Thanks.”

“Anything for you, Honey.”

The sat down together on the couch and she wrapped her hand around his. John smiled and let himself relax, even if the still beeping phone was making that difficult.

Meanwhile Edward was eyeing the brightly wrapped packages under the tree.

“Can I open one tonight?” he asked. “I’ve been really good all year. Please?”

“Well…okay. I guess one wouldn’t hurt,” John said.

“Thanks, Dad!”

Edward ran to the tree and picked out a small white box tied with a blue ribbon.

He opened the box and pulled out the toy bot giraffe that was nestled inside. He pressed its head and watched with wide eyes as it walked around the floor.

“Wow.”

Anna laughed, but John just titled his head and pursed his lips in confusion. Something wasn’t right. He had bought that gift for…who? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been for someone else. He closed his eyes trying to remember who they were why it was important that he give that gift to… 

“John!”

Suddenly the warmth of his apartment and Anna’s hand was gone and John’s hands now held a rifle.

_“John. I’ve been hit! I’m down!”_

_“Pelham!”_

_“On the west side!”_

John heard gunshots and smelled smoke.

“John, wake up!”

_“Shut up! Lead me in! Move!”_

The beeping of his phone was now constant and loud, demanding an answer.

_“They were ready for us, John. How did InSyndicate know we were coming? How did they know?”_

“John.”

John opend his eyes as he felt Anna shaking his shoulder and he turned to her. Suddenly there was no smoke and no gunfire just her smiling at him.

He looked over at Edward and saw that he was playing with a toy bot that wasn’t a giraffe but a cheetah. 

“You okay?” she asked wrapping her hand around his again.

Just a dream he thought it. It had to be.

“I’m fine.”

He grabbed his phone out of his coat pocket and turned it off. Then he leaned in close to Anna her hands wrapped around his tightly and he didn’t think he had ever been so happy.

***

Sandra stared intently at John’s face waiting for the flickering movements she had seen just a moment before. As long minutes ticked by the hope that he was going to open his eyes faded away.

She sat back down in the chair beside his hospital bed, still holding his hand tightly.

It was still a good sign she told herself. He had responded to the outside world even if just for a moment. Just as it had taken months for new skin to grow over the burns for the cuts and bruises to fade this wasn’t going to be fixed in an instant. But she took comfort in the fact that those small movements she had seen proved that life was returning to his body, and Sandra knew that one day John would be ready to return to his life too she was sure of it. 

She ignored the looks of sympathy the doctors gave her as they walked by and instead smiled at the man still lost within his own mind.

“Merry Christmas, John.”

His progress was slow, but she was so glad she had come to sit with him; to see that he was getting better bit by bit.

Besides he was her man and today of all days he shouldn’t be alone.

The End


End file.
